Section: US & Canada

Israel seems to be undergoing a protracted period of gloom and doom. The quarreling about its future leaders and possible downfall of Netanyahu make Israel look weak and incompetent. The passing of the Iran deal and dominance of its hardliners means that within five to 10 years Iran will threaten little Israel (8,000 square miles) with nuclear...

An aspiring screenwriter in California who authored a graphic novel about a condemned serial killer has been accused of borrowing grisly techniques from his own story to murder his estranged girlfriend, authorities said Tuesday.Blake Leibel, a 35-year-old native of Canada who was living in West Hollywood, has been charged with one count each of...

What We’re Following: The Disturbing Find at the ‘Tiger Temple’Wildlife officials in Thailand recently began removing tigers from a Buddhist temple that for years has faced allegations of animal abuse and illegal trafficking. Today, they discovered the remains of at least 40 tiger cubs inside a freezer. The temple, known colloquially...

What if it were possible to choose your dreams every night? The Kiev-based company Luciding claims that its signature headset, called the LucidCatcher, puts you in control of your dreams by administering a minor electrical shock to the brain during REM sleep. MEL films toured the company and created this short documentary, Kiev Dreamers, to...

Religion scholars use the term “hybrids” for groups that put together their faith and practice by taking bits and pieces from previous religious traditions. If one wants a suggestive picture, think of a child assembling a little house by taking Lego pieces from several boxes. A synonym for “hybridization” is “syncretism,” though that term has a...

Romania will not be frightened by Russia’s objections to its NATO activities, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said in a statement on Tuesday. The former communist country, now an EU and NATO member, borders Ukraine and has agreed to host military kit for a U.S. missile defense shield. The project has taken over a decade to implement and...

MOSCOW (AP) — Ukraine’s security service says it has uncovered a plot to smuggle Islamic State sympathizers to Western Europe. The SBU said in a statement Wednesday that it has sent an undercover agent posing as an IS sympathizer wanting to get to Western Europe to an apartment in the eastern city of Kharkiv. The agency said a citizen “of a...